Broncos receiver Eric Decker, who caught Peyton Manning’s 50th touchdown pass of 2013 and protected No. 51 when Julius Thomas left the ball on the field, already had a plan for what he’d do if he caught the record-setting ball Sunday.

“I was going to take it home,” he said, laughing. “That’s an item that is going to go for a lot.”

Decker, though kidding, said that he hoped to prank Manning back with the ball after all of the pranks that the quarterback pulled on him while they were training at Duke University last offseason.

“I figured this is maybe a time I can hold the ball for ransom and see what I get out of it,” Decker added. “But I would have to give it to him. It’s such a cool thing to be a part of, a guy that has been through a lot himself, accomplished a lot himself. To be on a team and to be a part of an individual achievement like that is pretty special.”

Decker did, however, get to keep No. 50, which was in his locker Monday.

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Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.